Château Lanessan, a cru bourgeois in Cussac (AOC Haut-Médoc) has been sold by the Bouteiller family to Treasury Wine Estates AKA Penfolds. Treasury also own Cambon la Pelouse and Belle-Vue, both in Macau and also in the Haut-Médoc appellation.
Lannessan is a 350 hectare estate with 85 hectares of vines, a large Tudor-style château dating from 1878, and a Horse Museum.
It is located a stone’s throw from Château Beychevelle (indeed, some plots of Beychevelle adjoining Lanessan in the Haut-Médoc appellation have a special exemption to be incorporated into the Saint-Julien fourth growth).
My own experience is that Lanessan is a sturdy old-fashioned kind of Médoc featuring good value for money. Let us hope that the Australians raise it to another whole level.
The local Sud-Ouest newspaper says that this summer Penfolds came out with a blend of Australian and Médoc wines.
Penfolds puts Australian wine into its first Médoc labels